Ultrasonic weld interconnection coaxial connector and interconnection with coaxial cable

ABSTRACT

A coaxial connector for interconnection with a coaxial cable with a solid outer conductor by ultrasonic welding is provided with a monolithic connector body with a bore. An annular flare seat is angled radially outward from the bore toward a connector end of the connector, the annular flare seat open to the connector end of the connector. An inner conductor cap is provided for interconnection with an inner conductor of the coaxial cable by ultrasonic welding. The ultrasonic welding of each of the inner and outer conductor interconnections may be performed via inner conductor and outer conductor sonotrodes which are coaxial with one another, without requiring the cable and or connector to be removed from their fixture.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S.Utility patent application Ser. No. 17/079,047, titled “Ultrasonic WeldInterconnection Coaxial Connector and Interconnection With CoaxialCable” filed Oct. 23, 2020, issued Oct. 4, 2022 as U.S. Pat. No.11,462,843 and hereby incorporated by reference in the entirety, whichis a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. Utility patentapplication Ser. No. 16/879,926, titled “Ultrasonic Weld InterconnectionCoaxial Connector and Interconnection With Coaxial Cable” filed May 21,2020, issued Oct. 27, 2020 as U.S. Pat. No. 10,819,046 and herebyincorporated by reference in the entirety, which is a continuation ofand claims priority to U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No.15/693,974, titled “Ultrasonic Weld Interconnection Coaxial Connectorand Interconnection With Coaxial Cable” filed Sep. 1, 2017 by KendrickVan Swearingen, issued May 26, 2020 as U.S. Pat. No. 10,665,967 andhereby incorporated by reference in the entirety, which is acontinuation of commonly owned U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No.13/712,289, titled “Ultrasonic Weld Interconnection Coaxial Connectorand Interconnection With Coaxial Cable” filed Dec. 12, 2012 by KendrickVan Swearingen, issued Sep. 5, 2017 as U.S. Pat. No. 9,755,328 andhereby incorporated by reference in the entirety, which is a divisionalof commonly owned U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 13/161,326,titled “Method for Ultrasonic Welding a Coaxial Cable to a CoaxialConnector and” filed Jun. 15, 2011 by Kendrick Van Swearingen, issuedFeb. 5, 2013 as U.S. Pat. No. 8,365,404 and hereby incorporated byreference in the entirety, which is a continuation-in-part of commonlyowned U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 12/980,013, titled“Method of Interconnecting a Coaxial Connector to a Coaxial Cable ViaUltrasonic Welding” filed Dec. 28, 2010 by Kendrick Van Swearingen,issued Jun. 4, 2013 as U.S. Pat. No. 8,453,320 and hereby incorporatedby reference in its entirety. This application is also acontinuation-in-part of commonly owned U.S. Utility patent applicationSer. No. 12/974,765, titled “Friction Weld Inner Conductor Cap andInterconnection Method” filed Dec. 21, 2010 by Kendrick Van Swearingen,issued Oct. 22, 2013 as U.S. Pat. No. 8,563,861 and hereby incorporatedby reference in its entirety. U.S. Utility patent application Ser. Nos.12/980,013 and 12/974,765 are each a continuation-in-part of commonlyowned U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 12/951,558, titled “LaserWeld Coaxial Connector and Interconnection Method”, filed Nov. 22, 2010by Ronald A. Vaccaro, Kendrick Van Swearingen, James P. Fleming, JamesJ. Wlos and Nahid Islam, issued Sep. 9, 2014 as U.S. Pat. No. 8,826,525and hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND Field of the Invention

This invention relates to electrical cable connectors. Moreparticularly, the invention relates to a coaxial connector and methodand apparatus for interconnection of such coaxial cable connector with acoaxial cable via ultrasonic welding wherein the interconnection may beperformed with a single fixture mounting operation.

Description of Related Art

Coaxial cable connectors are used, for example, in communication systemsrequiring a high level of precision and reliability.

To create a secure mechanical and optimized electrical interconnectionbetween the cable and the connector, it is desirable to have generallyuniform, circumferential contact between a leading edge of the coaxialcable outer conductor and the connector body. A flared end of the outerconductor may be clamped against an annular wedge surface of theconnector body via a coupling body. Representative of this technology iscommonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,793,529 issued Sep. 21, 2004 to Buenz.Although this type of connector is typically removable/re-useable,manufacturing and installation is complicated by the multiple separateinternal elements required, interconnecting threads and relatedenvironmental seals.

Connectors configured for permanent interconnection via solder and/oradhesive interconnection are also well known in the art. Representativeof this technology is commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,802,710 issued Sep.8, 1998 to Bufanda et al. However, solder and/or adhesiveinterconnections may be difficult to apply with high levels of qualitycontrol, resulting in interconnections that may be less thansatisfactory, for example when exposed to vibration and/or corrosionover time.

Passive Intermodulation Distortion, also referred to as PIM, is a formof electrical interference/signal transmission degradation that mayoccur with less than symmetrical interconnections and/or aselectro-mechanical interconnections shift or degrade over time, forexample due to mechanical stress, vibration, thermal cycling and/ormaterial degradation. PIM is an important interconnection qualitycharacteristic as PIM from a single low quality interconnection maydegrade the electrical performance of an entire RF system.

During interconnection procedures, the coaxial connector and/or coaxialconnector may be mounted in a fixture which secures the connector and/orcable in a secure pre-determined orientation with respect to oneanother. Depending upon the type of interconnection, multiple fixturesand/or mounting/remounting may be required to perform separate portionsof the interconnection procedure, such as separately forming secureelectro-mechanical interconnections with respect to each of the innerand outer conductors of the coaxial cable. However, eachmounting/remounting procedure consumes additional time and/or mayprovide opportunities for the introduction of alignment errors.

Competition in the coaxial cable connector market has focused attentionon improving electrical performance and long term reliability of thecable to connector interconnection.

Further, reduction of overall costs, including materials, training andinstallation costs, is a significant factor for commercial success.

Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a coaxialconnector and method of interconnection that overcomes deficiencies inthe prior art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention,where like reference numbers in the drawing figures refer to the samefeature or element and may not be described in detail for every drawingfigure in which they appear and, together with a general description ofthe invention given above, and the detailed description of theembodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of theinvention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic partial cut-away external isometric view of anexemplary embodiment of a coaxial cable inserted through a coaxialconnector and an inner conductor cap shown spaced away from the end ofthe inner conductor, prior to initating connector-to-cableinterconnection.

FIG. 2 is a schematic partial cut-away isometric view of the coaxialconnector of FIG. 1 with the outer conductor sonotrode flaring theleading edge of the outer conductor against the flare seat.

FIG. 3 is a close-up view of area A of FIG. 2 .

FIG. 4 is a schematic partial cut-away isometric view of the coaxialconnector of FIG. 1 with the outer conductor sonotrode advanced toinitiate the flaring of the leading edge of the outer conductor againstthe flare seat.

FIG. 5 is a schematic partial cut-away isometric view of the coaxialconnector of FIG. 1 with the outer conductor sonotrode seated upon theleading end flare and the inner conductor sonotrode advanced to initiateultrasonic welding of the inner conductor cap upon the inner conductor.

FIG. 6 is a schematic partial cut-away isometric view of the coaxialconnector of FIG. 1 with the inner conductor and outer conductorsonotrodes retracted.

FIG. 7 is a schematic partial cut-away isometric view of the coaxialconnector of FIG. 1 with interconnection completed.

FIG. 8 is a schematic isometric view of a coaxial cable and coaxialconnector ready for insertion into a fixture.

FIG. 9 is a schematic isometric view of the fixture of FIG. 8 , with thecoaxial cable and the coaxial connector seated in the fixture.

FIG. 10 is a schematic isometric view of the fixture of FIG. 8 , closedaround the coaxial cable and the coaxial connector, ready for flaringand/or ultrasonic welding via the coaxial inner and outer conductorsonotrodes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aluminum has been applied as a cost-effective alternative to copper forthe conductors in coaxial cables. However, aluminum oxide surfacecoatings quickly form upon air-exposed aluminum surfaces. These aluminumoxide surface coatings may degrade traditional mechanical, solder and/orconductive adhesive interconnections.

The inventor has recognized that increasing acceptance of coaxial cablewith solid outer and/or inner conductors of aluminum and/or aluminumalloy enables connectors configured for interconnection via ultrasonicwelding between the outer and inner conductors and a respectiveconnector body and/or inner conductor cap inner contact which may eachalso be cost effectively provided, for example, formed from aluminumand/or aluminum alloy.

Further with respect to the inner conductor interconnection, theinventor has identified several difficulties arising from theinterconnection of aluminum inner conductor coaxial cable configurationswith prior coaxial cable connectors having inner contact configurations.Prior coaxial connector mechanical interconnection inner contactconfigurations are generally incompatible with aluminum inner conductorsdue to the creep characteristics of aluminum. Further, galvaniccorrosion between the aluminum inner conductor and a dissimilar metal ofthe inner contact, such as bronze, brass or copper, may contribute toaccelerated degradation of the electro-mechanical interconnection.

Utilizing friction welding, such as ultrasonic welding, for both theouter conductor to connector body and inner conductor to inner conductorcap interconnections enables a molecular bond interconnection withinherent resistance to corrosion and/or material creep interconnectiondegradation. Further, a molecular bond interconnection essentiallyeliminates the opportunity for PIM generation due to shifting and/ordegrading mechanical interconnections.

An ultrasonic weld may be formed by applying ultrasonic vibrations underpressure in a join zone between two parts desired to be welded together,resulting in local heat sufficient to plasticize adjacent surfaces thatare then held in contact with one another until the interflowed surfacescool, completing the weld. An ultrasonic weld may be applied with highprecision via a sonotrode and/or simultaneous sonotrode ends to a pointand/or extended surface. Where a point ultrasonic weld is applied,successive overlapping point welds may be applied to generate acontinuous ultrasonic weld.

Ultrasonic vibrations may be applied, for example, in a linear directionand/or reciprocating along an arc segment, known as torsional vibration.

Because the localized abrasion of the ultrasonic welding process canbreak up any aluminum oxide surface coatings in the immediate weld area,no additional treatment may be required with respect to removing orotherwise managing the presence of aluminum oxide on the interconnectionsurfaces.

Exemplary embodiments of an inner and outer conductor ultrasonicweldable coaxial connector 2 are demonstrated in FIGS. 1-7 . As bestshown in FIG. 1 , a unitary connector body 4 is provided with a bore 6dimensioned to receive the outer conductor 8 of a coaxial cable 9therein. As best shown in FIG. 3 , a flare seat 10 angled radiallyoutward from the bore 6 toward a connector end 18 of the connector body4 is open to the connector end of the coaxial connector 2 providing amating surface to which a leading end flare 14 of the outer conductor 8may be ultrasonically welded by an outer conductor sonotrode 16 of anultrasonic welder inserted to contact the leading end flare 14 from theconnector end 18.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that connector end 18 and cableend 12 are applied herein as identifiers for respective ends of both thecoaxial connector 2 and also of discrete elements of the coaxialconnector 2 and sontotrodes described herein, to identify same and theirrespective interconnecting surfaces according to their alignment along alongitudinal axis of the connector between a connector end 18 and acable end 12.

Prior to interconnection via ultrasonic welding, the leading end of thecoaxial cable 9 may be prepared, as best shown in FIG. 1 , by cuttingthe coaxial cable 9 so that the inner conductor 24 extends from theouter conductor 8. Also, dielectric material 26 between the innerconductor 24 and outer conductor 8 may be stripped back and a length ofthe outer jacket 28 removed to expose desired lengths of each.

The inner conductor 24 extending from the prepared end of the coaxialcable 9 may be selected to pass through to the connector end 18 as aportion of the selected connection interface 31. If the selected coaxialcable 9 has an inner conductor 24 that has a larger diameter than theinner conductor portion of the selected connector interface 31, theinner conductor 24 may be ground at the connector end 18 to the requireddiameter.

Although a direct pass through inner conductor 24 advantageouslyeliminates interconnections, for example with the spring basketinterconnection with a traditional coaxial connector inner contact, suchmay introduce electrical performance degradation such as PIM. Where theinner conductor 24 is also aluminum material some applications mayrequire a non-aluminum material connection point at the innercontact/inner conductor of the connection interface 31. As shown forexample in FIG. 1 , an inner conductor cap 20, for example formed from ametal such as brass or other desired metal, may be applied to the end ofthe inner conductor 24, also by friction welding such as ultrasonicwelding.

The inner conductor cap 20 may be provided with an inner conductorsocket at the cable end 12 and a desired inner conductor interface 22 atthe connector end 4. The inner conductor socket may be dimensioned tomate with a prepared end 23 of an inner conductor 24 of a coaxial cable9. To apply the inner conductor cap 20, the end of the inner conductor24 is ground to provide a pin corresponding to the selected socketgeometry of the inner conductor cap 20. To allow material inter-flowduring welding attachment, the socket geometry of the inner conductorcap 20 and/or the end of the inner conductor 24 may be formed to providea material gap 25.

A rotation key 27 may be provided upon the inner conductor cap 20, therotation key 27 dimensioned to mate with an inner sonotrode tool 15 forrotating and/or torsionally reciprocating the inner conductor cap 20,for interconnection via ultrasonic friction welding.

The cable end 12 of the coaxial cable 9 is inserted through the bore 6and an annular flare operation is performed on a leading edge of theouter conductor 8. The resulting leading end flare 14 may be angled tocorrespond to the angle of the flare seat 10 with respect to alongitudinal axis of the coaxial connector 2. By performing the flareoperation against the flare seat 10, the resulting leading end flare 14can be formed with a direct correspondence to the flare seat angle. Theflare operation may be performed utilizing the leading edge of the outerconductor sonotrode 16, provided with a conical cylindrical inner lipwith a connector end 18 diameter less than an inner diameter of theouter conductor 8, for initially engaging and flaring the leading edgeof the outer conductor 8 against the flare seat 10.

An overbody 30, as shown for example in FIG. 1 , may be applied to theconnector body 4 as an overmolding of polymeric material. The overbody30 increases cable to connector torsion and pull resistance.

Depending upon the applied connection interface 31, demonstrated in theexemplary embodiments herein as a standard 7/16 DIN male interface, theoverbody 30 may be provided dimensioned with an outer diametercylindrical support surface 34 and/or support ridges depending upon thediameter of the selected coaxial cable. Tool flats 39 (see FIG. 8 ) forretaining the coaxial connector 2 during interconnection with othercables and/or devices may be formed in the cylindrical support surface34 by removing surface sections of the cylindrical support surface 34.

The coupling nut 36 is retained upon the support surface 34 and/orsupport ridges at the connector end 18 by an overbody flange 32. At thecable end 12, the coupling nut 36 may be retained upon the cylindricalsupport surface 34 and/or support ridges of the overbody 30 by applyingone or more retention spurs 41 (see FIG. 8 ) proximate the cable end ofthe cylindrical support surface 34. The retention spurs 41 are angledwith increasing diameter from the cable end 12 to the connector end 18,allowing the coupling nut 36 to be passed over them from the cable end12 to the connector end 18, but then retained upon the cylindricalsupport surface 34 by a stop face provided at the connector end 18 ofthe retention spurs 41.

The overbody 30 may also provide connection interface structure at theconnector end 18 and further reinforcing support at the cable end 12,enabling reductions in the size of the connector body 4, therebypotentially reducing overall material costs. For example, the overbody30 is demonstrated extending from the connector end 18 of the connectorbody 4 to provide portions of the selected connector interface 31, analignment cylinder 38 of the 7/16 DIN male interface, further reducingmetal material requirements of the connector body 4.

The overbody flange 32 may be securely keyed to a connector body flange40 of the connector body 4 and thereby with the connector body 4 via oneor more interlock apertures 42 such as holes, longitudinal knurls,grooves, notches or the like provided in the connector body flange 40and/or outer diameter of the connector body 4, as shown for example inFIG. 1 . Thereby, as the polymeric material of the overbody 30 flowsinto the one or more interlock apertures 42 during overmolding, uponcuring the overbody 30 is permanently coupled to and rotationallyinterlocked with the connector body 4.

The cable end of the overbody 30 may be dimensioned with an innerdiameter friction surface 44 proximate that of the coaxial cable jacket28, enabling, for example, an interference fit and/or polymeric frictionwelding between the overbody 30 and the jacket 28, by rotation of theconnector body 4 with respect to the outer conductor 8, therebyeliminating the need for environmental seals at the cable end 12 of theconnector/cable interconnection.

The overbody 30 may also have an extended cable portion proximate thecable end provided with a plurality of stress relief apertures 46. Thestress relief apertures 46 may be formed in a generally ellipticalconfiguration with a major axis of the stress relief apertures 46arranged normal to the longitudinal axis of the coaxial connector 2. Thestress relief apertures 46 enable a flexible characteristic of the cableend of the overbody 30 that increases towards the cable end of theoverbody 30. Thereby, the overbody 30 supports the interconnectionbetween the coaxial cable 9 and the coaxial connector 2 withoutintroducing a rigid end edge along which a connected coaxial cable 2subjected to bending forces may otherwise buckle, which may increaseboth the overall strength and the flexibility characteristics of theinterconnection.

Where the overbody 30 is interconnected with the jacket 28 via frictionwelding, friction between the friction surface 44 and the outer diameterof the jacket 28 heats the respective surfaces to a point where theybegin to soften and intermingle, sealing them against one another. Thejacket 28 and and/or the inner diameter of the overbody 30 may beprovided as a series of spaced apart annular peaks of a contour patternsuch as a corrugation, or a stepped surface, to provide enhancedfriction, allow voids for excess friction weld material flow and/or addkey locking for additional strength. Alternatively, the overbody 30 maybe sealed against the outer jacket 28 with an adhesive/sealant or may beovermolded upon the connector body 4 after interconnection with theouter conductor 8, the heat of the injected polymeric material bondingthe overbody 30 with and/or sealing against the jacket 28.

In a method for cable and connector interconnection, the prepared end ofthe coaxial cable 9 is inserted through the coupling nut 36 (thecoupling nut 36 is advanced along the coaxial cable 9 out of the wayuntil interconnection is completed) and connector body bore 6 so thatthe outer conductor 8 extends past the flare seat 10 a desired distance.The connector body 4 and/or cable end of the overbody 30 may be coatedwith an adhesive prior to insertion, and/or a spin welding operation maybe performed to fuse the overbody 30 and/or cable end of the connectorbody 4 with the jacket 28. The connector body 4 and coaxial cable 9 arethen retained in a fixture 37, rigidly securing these elements for theflaring and electrical interconnection friction welding via ultrasonicwelding steps. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the fixturemay be any manner of releasable retention mechanism into which thecoaxial cable and/or coaxial connector 2 may be easily inserted and thenreleased, for example as demonstrated in FIGS. 8-10 .

The flaring operation may be performed with a separate flare tool or viaadvancing the outer conductor sonotrode 16 to contact the leading edgeof the head of the outer conductor 8, as shown for example in FIG. 4 ,resulting in flaring the leading edge of the outer conductor 8 againstthe flare seat 10 (See FIG. 3 ). Once flared, the outer conductorsonotrode 16 is advanced (if not already so seated after flaring iscompleted) upon the leading end flare 14 and ultrasonic welding may beinitiated.

Ultrasonic welding may be performed, for example, utilizing linearand/or torsional vibration. In linear vibration ultrasonic-type frictionwelding of the leading end flare 14 to the flare seat 10, a linearvibration is applied to a cable end side of the leading end flare 14,while the coaxial connector 2 and flare seat 10 therewithin are heldstatic within the fixture 37. The linear vibration generates a frictionheat which plasticizes the contact surfaces between the leading endflare 14 and the flare seat 10. Where linear vibration ultrasonic-typefriction welding is utilized, a suitable frequency and lineardisplacement, such as between 20 and 40 KHz and 20-35 microns, selectedfor example with respect to a material characteristic, diameter and/orsidewall thickness of the outer conductor 8, may be applied.

With the outer conductor interconnection completed, the outer diametersonotrode head may be advanced into supporting contact against theleading end flare 14 of the outer conductor 8, further improving theimmobilization of the coaxial cable 9 and coaxial connector 2.

As shown in FIG. 5 , within a bore of the outer conductor sonotrode 16,the inner conductor sonotrode 15 is then advanced to friction weld theinner conductor cap 20 upon the prepared end 23 of the inner conductor24. Because the outer conductor sonotrode 16 and the inner conductorsonotrode 15 are arranged coaxially, alignment with the desired coaxialelements of the coaxial cable 9 is ensured, without requiring adjustmentof the coaxial cable 9 and/or coaxial connector 2 within the fixture 37.

The inner conductor cap 20 may have been pre-inserted upon the preparedend 23 of the inner conductor 24 or alternatively may be provided loadedinto the cable end of the inner conductor sonotrode 15. The innerconductor sonotrode 15 may include a key feature 48 configured toreceive and engage the rotation key 27 of the inner conductor cap 20.Utilizing the key feature 48 to drive the inner conductor cap 20,torsional vibration ultrasonic-type friction welding may be applied.

In torsional vibration ultrasonic-type friction welding, a torsionalvibration is applied to the interconnection via the inner conductorsonotrode 15 coupled to the inner conductor cap 20 by the rotation key27, while the coaxial connector 2 and coaxial cable 9 with innerconductor 24 there within are held static within the fixture 37. Thetorsional vibration generates a friction heat which plasticizes thecontact surfaces between the prepared end 23 and the inner conductor cap20. Where torsional vibration ultrasonic-type friction welding isutilized, a suitable frequency and torsional vibration displacement, forexample between 20 and 40 KHz and 20-35 microns, may be applied, alsoselected with respect to material characteristics and/or dimensions ofthe mating surfaces.

Alternatively, the inner conductor sonotrode 15 may be applied tointerconnect the inner conductor cap 20 and prepared end 23 of the innerconductor 24 and the outer conductor sonotrode 16 then advancedcoaxially around the inner conductor sonotrode 15 to perform flaring ofthe outer conductor leading end flare 14 and/or ultrasonic friction weldinterconnection.

Where the outer conductor and inner conductor sonotrodes 16, 15 areindependent of one another during operation, a vibration profilecomprising a vibration type, frequency and/or amplitude selectedaccording to the requirements of each type of interconnection may beapplied. If desired, both the inner conductor and outer conductorsonotrodes 15, 16 may be applied, either with the same vibration profileor separate vibration profiles, simultaneously to further reduce theinterconnection time requirements.

As shown for example in FIG. 5 , when the interconnection is completed,the inner conductor and outer conductor sonotrodes 15, 16 may bewithdrawn and the interconnected coaxial cable 9 and coaxial connector 2released from the fixture 37. With the coupling nut 36 advanced over theoverbody 30 to a ready for interconnection position against the overbodyflange 32, the interconnection has been completed, as best shown in FIG.7 .

One skilled in the art will appreciate that the coaxial connector 2 andinterconnection method disclosed has significant material costefficiencies and provides a permanently sealed interconnection withreduced size and/or weight requirements. Because of the coaxialsonotrode configuration, the coaxial cable 9 and coaxial connector 2need to be mounted in the fixture 37 only once, which simplifies theelectrical interconnection procedure. Thereby, the single fixturingfeature of the flaring and electrical interconnection method mayincrease the speed of manufacture and/or improve alignment of theresulting interconnection. Finally, because a molecular bond isestablished at each electro-mechanical interconnection, PIM resultingfrom such interconnections may be significantly reduced and/or entirelyeliminated.

Table of Parts 2 coaxial connector 4 connector body 6 bore 8 outerconductor 9 coaxial cable 10 flare seat 12 cable end 14 leading endflare 15 inner conductor sonotrode 16 outer conductor sonotrode 18connector end 20 inner conductor cap 22 inner conductor interface 23prepared end 24 inner conductor 25 material gap 26 dielectric material27 rotation key 28 jacket 30 overbody 31 connection interface 32overbody flange 34 support surface 36 coupling nut 37 fixture 38alignment cylinder 39 tool flat 40 connector body flange 41 retentionspur 42 interlock aperture 44 friction surface 46 stress relief aperture48 key feature

Where in the foregoing description reference has been made to materials,ratios, integers or components having known equivalents then suchequivalents are herein incorporated as if individually set forth.

While the present invention has been illustrated by the description ofthe embodiments thereof, and while the embodiments have been describedin considerable detail, it is not the intention of the applicant torestrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to suchdetail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear tothose skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broaderaspects is not limited to the specific details, representativeapparatus, methods, and illustrative examples shown and described.Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departurefrom the spirit or scope of applicant's general inventive concept.Further, it is to be appreciated that improvements and/or modificationsmay be made thereto without departing from the scope or spirit of thepresent invention as defined by the following claims.

We claim:
 1. A coaxial cable-connector assembly comprising: a. a coaxialcable comprising an inner conductor and an outer conductorcircumferentially surrounding the inner conductor, and dielectric layerinterposed between the inner conductor and the outer conductor, whereinthe outer conductor has a leading end; and b. a coaxial connectorcomprising: an inner contact having a first end electrically connectedto the inner conductor of the coaxial cable, and a second distal end; aconnector body having a first end that surrounds the leading end of thecoaxial cable and a cylindrical distal end that surrounds the seconddistal end of the inner contact; wherein an electrical path is formedbetween the leading end of the outer conductor on the coaxial cable andthe cylindrical distal end, and wherein a circumferential welded seam islocated along the electrical path.
 2. The assembly defined in claim 1,wherein the circumferential welded seam is formed directly between theleading end of the coaxial cable and the first end of the connectorbody.
 3. The assembly defined in claim 1, further comprising an overbodythat circumferentially overlies the connector body.
 4. The assemblydefined in claim 1, wherein the coaxial connector presents a standard7/16 DIN male interface.
 5. The assembly defined in claim 1, wherein theouter conductor has a smooth profile.
 6. A coaxial cable-connectorassembly comprising: a. a coaxial cable comprising an inner conductorand an outer conductor circumferentially surrounding the innerconductor, and dielectric layer interposed between the inner conductorand the outer conductor, wherein the outer conductor has a leading end;and b. a coaxial connector comprising: an inner contact having a firstend electrically connected to the inner conductor of the coaxial cable,and a second distal end; an outer conductive member having a first endthat surrounds the leading end of the coaxial cable and a cylindricaldistal end that surrounds the second distal end of the inner contact;wherein an electrical path is formed between the leading end of theouter conductor on the coaxial cable and the cylindrical distal end, andwherein a circumferential welded seam is located along the electricalpath.
 7. The assembly defined in claim 6, wherein the circumferentialwelded seam is formed directly between the leading end of the coaxialcable and the first end of the outer conductive member.
 8. The assemblydefined in claim 6, further comprising an overbody thatcircumferentially overlies the outer conductive member.
 9. The assemblydefined in claim 6, wherein the coaxial connector presents a standard7/16 DIN male interface.
 10. The assembly defined in claim 6, whereinthe outer conductor has a smooth profile.
 11. A coaxial cable-connectorassembly comprising: a. a coaxial cable comprising an inner conductorand an outer conductor circumferentially surrounding the innerconductor, and dielectric layer interposed between the inner conductorand the outer conductor, wherein the outer conductor has a leading end;and b. a coaxial connector comprising: an inner contact having a firstend electrically connected to the inner conductor of the coaxial cable,and a second distal end; an outer conductive member having a first endthat surrounds the leading end of the coaxial cable and a cylindricaldistal end that surrounds the second distal end of the inner contact;wherein an electrical path is formed between the leading end of theouter conductor on the coaxial cable and the cylindrical distal end, andwherein a molecular bond is located along the electrical path.
 12. Theassembly defined in claim 6, wherein the molecular bond is formeddirectly between the leading end of the coaxial cable and the first endof the outer conductive member.
 13. The assembly defined in claim 6,further comprising an overbody that circumferentially overlies the outerconductive member.
 14. The assembly defined in claim 6, wherein thecoaxial connector presents a standard 7/16 DIN male interface.
 15. Theassembly defined in claim 6, wherein the outer conductor has a smoothprofile.